Hat holder



G. O. DUNN HAT HOLDER Filed 00p. 12, 1952 Patented Apr. 3, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved hat holder and seeks, among other objects, to provide a simple and inexpensive device of this character on which a hat may be'arranged for keeping the hat in good condition and out of the way to thus promote neatness in the home, for instance, as well as obviate soiling of the hat.

The invention seeks, as a further object, to provide a device well adapted to support ladies hats,

or mens hats, as well as the hats of children, and which will also be adapted for use, not only in the home, as previously intimated, but also in public check rooms and stores as a device for displaying hats for sale.

And the invention seeks, as a still further object, to provide a device which, in addition to its function as a hat holder may also be used as a hanger or support for neckties, ladies scarfs, or the like.

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of my improved hat holder showing a gentlemans hat of conventional form thereon,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the head of the device,

Figure 3 is a detail section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a horizontal section on the line 44 of Figure 3, and

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a slight variation in the mounting of the holder.

The hat holder of the present invention is preferably formed from a single length of any suitable resilient wire and includes a straight stem 10 of any chosen length. At one end portion the wire 'is bent at right angles to form a laterally projecting arm 11 whence the wire is again bent to provide a depending terminal 12 which is flattened. The arm 11 and terminal 12 may, like the stem 10, be of any chosen length, and lie in the same plane with said stem.

At the upper end of the stem, the length of wire is looped to provide a preferably diamond shaped head 13 which extends forwardly from the stem at right angles thereto while, as partic ularly seen in Figure 2, the adjacent end of the wire is bent to form an eye 14 tightly embracing the stem at its upper end. As will be perceived, the head extends horizontally, at opposite sides of the stem, and while being of a size to be accommodated within the crown of any ordinary hat is, nevertheless, of appreciable length so as to provide a firm support for the hat. At the ends of the head, the wire is bowed downwardly to provide a pair of aligned outwardly inclined loops 15 connecting the front and rear portions of the head, which portions preferably lie in the same plane. In this connection, it may be noted that while I have shown a diamond shaped head as a preferred construction still, I do not wish to be limited to this exact shape, as other shapes may be adopted Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I also provide a socket plate 16 which may be struck from a piece of suitable resilient sheet metal. As best seen in Figure 1, this plate is provided centrally with staggered straps 17 between which the terminal 12 of the holder is adapted to firmly but removably fit. Thus, the holder may be taken down, when desired, or to facilitate the operation of placing the hat thereon while, when the holder is engaged with the socket plate, the flattened terminal will coact with the plate for limiting the holder against swinging movement about said terminal as an 7 axis. Thus, when the holder is attached to a rail 18 in a closet, for instance, the holder cannot be swung sidewise to accidentally crush the hat thereon against the wall. In the present instance I have shown the socket plate attached to the front face of the rail 18. It is obvious, however, that said plate may, if desired, be attached to the front edge of a shelf or the like.

In Figure 5 I have illustrated a slight modification of the invention, wherein, in lieu of the 85. plate 16, I provide a plate 19 which is spot welded to the terminal at the lower end of the holder so that, in this way, the holder is rigidly fixed to said plate. The plate 19 may be appropriately secured in any convenient place where it is desired to mount the holder or, if preferred, the plate may be slipped, in the instance of the rail 18, between said rail and the wall, for thus rigidly mounting the holder.

In Figure 1 of the drawing, I have shown a 5 mans hat 20 in position on the holder. As will be observed, the head of the holder is freely accommodated within the crown of the hat and the hat is so arranged that the usual crease 21 at the top of the crown is accommodated in the loops 15 of the head, while the crown rests directly upon the front and rear side portions of the head for sustaining the major portion of the weight of the hat. Flattening or mutilation of the crease 21 is thus obviated while, as will be seen, the side portions of the loops 15 will coact with the sides of the crease 21 for limiting the hat against rotation on the holder. Thus, when the device is usedto display a hat for sale, for instance, the hat will, when once arranged in a set position on the holder, be maintained in such position. In the absence of the loops 15, it will further be seen, that the whole weight of the hat would be supported by the crease 21 directly in contact with the head which would obviously result in deforming the crease. The loops 15 are, therefore, a salient feature of the invention.

If desired, neckties, scarfs, or the like may be arranged upon the arm 11 and supported in a convenient position out of the way.

What is claimed is:

l. A hat holder formed from a length of wire bent to provide an arm having a stem upstanding therefrom and formed at the upper end of said stem into an elongated loop to define a head, the wire being secured at its free end to said stem, the head being adapted to accommodate a hat thereover and the sides of said loop being bent adjacent the ends of said loop to provide alined depending bowed portions at the ends of the head adapted to accommodate a crease in the crown of the hat whereby to obviate the mutilation of said crease.

2. A hat holder formed from a length of wire bent to provide a stem formed at its lower end with a laterally projecting arm having a depending flattened terminal thereon, the wire at the upper end of said stem being bent into a substantially elliptical loop to define a head adapted to receive a hat thereon, the wire being secured at its free end to the upper end of said stem, the sides of the loop being bent downwardly adjacent the ends of said loop to provide depending bowed portions at the ends of the head adapted to accommodate a crease in the crown of the hat whereby to obviate mutilation of said crease, and a socket plate having staggered straps struck therefrom and receiving said terminals between said straps for supporting the holder upon the plate. GLENN O. DUNN. 

